Journey to the Land of Waves (sequel to A Visit to the Sand)
by DJand4
Summary: This is the follow up to the Birthday Present and Visit to the Sand. Sakura's mission to neutralize and release the infused souls of the children caught within the chakra draining darts continues. Sakura and Niishi, the blacksmith responsible for the darts construction, journey to the Land of Waves in the hope of finding information to help them with their mission.


**Warning this is the third part of an ongoing story. I have given a very brief synopsis of the previous two stories but it's best to read the entire saga to get the full import of the story.**

 **Previously on Birthday Present:** While traveling from the Land of Rivers, Naruto is given a lightweight kunai that he decides to give to Hinata as a birthday present. Unbeknownst to him, this is a chakra draining weapon that only someone who is a Jinchuuriki or a person who has a strong inner personality can wield. Meanwhile, a similar weapon was discovered in the Land of the Hidden Clouds while Sakura and her team were investigating a potential frame job of Sasuke. Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura make their way back to the Land of Rivers and come across Niishi who is being forced to make these weapons using the souls of orphaned children. Niishi agrees to help them find and restore all the weapons to help her absolve herself of her guilt.

 **Previously** **on The Visit to the** **Sand** : In a bid to discover more about the chakra draining dart she removed from Sasuke to save his life, Sakura decides to make a trip to the Land of Sand. One of the clans there specializes in the use of chakra darts. Ino decides to join her to witness the grand opening of the Lady Chiyo Institute for Toxicology. Once there, Ino and Kankuro become close. An attempt on Gaara's life ends up going awry and Kankuro gets caught in the crossfire. Ino needs to delve into his mind to keep him alive while Gaara and others hunt for an antidote. Meanwhile, Sakura comes across the remaining 3 missing chakra darts and adds them to her collection. Ino leaves before Kankuro comes to. Once they reach the village, they find Sai waiting for them. He's ready to begin an official courtship with Ino.

 **And now...**

 **Journey to the Land of Waves**

 **Chapter 1**

Sakura tossed and turned, twisting the bed sheets into a knot at the bottom of her bed. It was hot and humid. Summer was approaching the Land of Fire early this year.

 _Must be due to all the weddings,_ she thought, a bit unkindly.

Naruto and Hinata's wedding was a month away. Hinata had shyly requested if Sakura could be her maid of honor. Of course, Sakura had said yes. Not to be out done, Ino sent her wedding invitation out a week later with the same request.

Sakura sat up in bed and ran her hands through her hair tiredly.

 _Ino_ , she thought, _what is that girl doing?_

Ino and Sai had had a whirlwind courtship since they had gotten back from Suna two months ago. No one was more surprised than Sakura when Ino showed her the ring.

"Sai proposed!" Ino cried loudly, displaying the sparkling ring for all to see at the dumpling shop. Several people ran over to ooh and ahh while a stunned Sakura sat motionless with a half of a dumpling still clutched within her chopsticks.

When the mob left and Ino sat down once more, Sakura said, "I take it that you said yes."

Ino looked down her classical nose at her and stated matter of factly, "Of course, why wouldn't I?"

Sakura's mouth opened and closed like a fish in desperate need of water and said the one name on her mind, "Kankuro."

A flash of pain crossed Ino's face and then was replaced quickly with an over bright façade, she waved her hand unimportantly, "That's water under the bridge. A fling!"

Sakura leaned forward and whispered, "Does Sai know?"

Ino sat back stunned and then smiled softly, "Sai knows everything about me and you know what? He doesn't care."

Sakura took a bite of the forgotten dumpling and muttered, "I bet Kankuro will."

Ino's brow furrowed and she demanded, "What did you say?!" However, before Sakura could speak, she waved her hand once more and continued, "It's unimportant. The fact is that Sai and I are meant to be together. I know it, he knows it, and now the whole world will know it!"

Sakura nodded. Who was she to rain on Ino's parade?

 _You probably should take a lesson from her?_ Inner growled.

 _Shut it!_ Sakura growled to her inner voice, while keeping a grip on her smile to Ino.

 _Oh I wish I could,_ Inner exclaimed, _but unfortunately, I have to scream to be heard over these children!_

Sakura grabbed her head as pain shot through it. The scrumptious dumplings of a few moments before turned violently in her stomach.

Ino noticed right away and put a hand to her friend's arm. "Are you okay?" she questioned with concern.

"Yeah, it's nothing," she assured her. However, inwardly Inner was still howling.

 _Nothing_?! _You call these_ _four_ _squalling brats_ , _nothing_?!

Sakura had come straight home to bed, but not before promising to be Ino's maid of honor.

 _We_ _can't go on like this_ , Inner said quietly, as Sakura sat in bed.

Sakura sighed. She knew that the voice inside her head was right. The four chakra draining darts that lay on her dressing table needed to be laid to rest. They were infused with the blood of children to become the ultimate weapon. The children's souls remained intact and had fused with the metal. Their need for a mother had led them to bond with Sakura after they had been procured in battle. One of them had almost succeeded in killing Sasuke which was a feat in and of itself and spoke to the danger of having them around.

In the stillness of the night though they seemed to sleep, but Sakura felt them stirring. They always woke shortly after she did and then the noise level in her head racketed up a notch until by midday her head felt like it would explode. They were affecting her life to the point where she could no longer function. Each of the four weapons had their own distinct voice and needs. She couldn't understand all of them but apparently her Inner voice did.

 _I can't play nursemaid much longer._ _Trust me_ , _you_ _don't want me to_ , Inner continued with a growl of frustration at the end.

Sakura stepped out of bed and stretched. She went to her dressing table to grab her running shorts. At her approach, the voices began to murmur and greet her excitedly.

Sakura smiled. Although, she knew that she would be cursing them later, there was something to be said to have something or someone be excited by your mere presence and to want nothing more than to share your day.

 _Keep telling yourself that_ , Inner growled.

"I know, I know. We can't go on like this," she said out loud. "I'm meeting up with Niishi later. Hopefully, she will have an idea on what to do."

 _She better,_ Inner growled once more before the chorus of young voices superseded hers.

"Yes, we are going for a run. No, I don't know who we will see," she replied to their endless questions. She placed the four chakra darts carefully into a wrapped shirt and put them in her backpack

 _Sasuke_? One voice asked hopefully.

Sakura slammed the drawer shut with more power than she intended.

"No, we will definitely not see him," she said, firmly.

The voice in her head sighed unhappily. It was from the dart that had almost killed him. Ever since Sakura pulled it from his body using a massive amount of chakra, the dart had pined for him, asking about his whereabouts almost daily.

::

Sakura began her jog through the early morning streets of Konoha. She waved at familiar vendors as she passed. They were busy unloading crates of merchandise and setting of their stalls. Her run took her past the hospital and she remembered that they should be getting in another round of recruits in another month or so for training.

 _Will Sasuke be one_ _of them?_ a voice in her head asked.

 _No!_ came Inner's emphatic answer, _Stop asking about Sasuke every 5 minutes!_

Sakura smiled and gave a silent thank you Inner's way. She knew that Inner was filtering many of the conversations in her head. Without her, Sakura would have gone crazy long ago. She stumbled with the thought and half heartedly chuckled.

 _Well, crazier,_ she amended. She turned the corner and made her way into another sector of the village. It was quieter and more secluded here. She ran up to the Hyuga estate. Before she could announce herself, the gate opened silently and Hinata appeared.

"Ready?" Hinata asked in her hesitant voice.

"Hai," Sakura answered.

They both took off at a comfortable pace towards the park in the far distance.

"Thank you, Sakura," Hinata said as they reached the park and began to turn towards the village once more. "Who knew that ramen could put on the weight?" She giggled.

"Yeah, well, you know Naruto, that's all he eats. His metabolism can handle it but ours can't," Sakura said.

Hinata nodded and blushed pink. Sakura didn't know if it was due to the exertion or that she alluded to Naruto's physique.

"Anyway, with this added aerobic activity, you will fit perfectly into that dress you liked for the wedding," she added.

Hinata's face took on a determined look and she pushed the pace of their run faster, "I do really like that dress."

Sakura smiled and matched the dark haired girl's pace. While she ran, the voices tended to fade in the distance. However, the problem was when she stopped. These early morning runs were great for her to start her day. It gave her precious moments to think and plan her day. Time she would not have later when the voices became too loud and her tightly restrained focus dissolved into fragmented chaos.

They made two full circles from the village to the park and back. On their third round, Sakura stopped at her house and waved goodbye to her friend. It was time to change to get to the hospital for work.

She ran up the stairs to change her clothes. She opened a drawer to rummage for her uniform when a green light caught her eye.

Her hand closed around the stone that emanated the light. She grabbed her clothes and quickly shut the drawer but not before she heard a squeal of excitement.

Sasuke!

::

"Another, please, and make it a double," Sakura said to the waiter, holding up her empty glass.

"Sakura, how long have you been here? Did I have the time wrong?" Niishi asked, taking a seat across from her friend and signaling the bar to bring her what Sakura was having.

Sakura lifted her head slowly and squinted at the clock inside the bar. "No, you are on time. I was the one who was early."

Sakura grabbed the woman's large hands into her small ones and exclaimed, "Please tell me that you found a way to separate the children from these weapons." Her eyes darted to the backpack that she took wherever she went. "I can't handle this anymore. I need…I need to get away, if only for a few days. I can't take their constant chatter anymore," she implored.

Niishi smiled grimly. She knew how Sakura felt. She had a chakra draining weapon as well but it was different in her case. Her kunai contained the precious memories of her twin brother. Unlike Sakura, she welcomed the link and was comforted by his presence.

Sakura quickly moved her hands away when the waiter came wth their drinks.

Niishi sipped hers while Sakura gulped hers down. "How many have you had, Sakura?" Niishi asked. Niishi was a large woman and renown drinker in her own right. She finished off her drink and signaled for another. As Sakura put her hand up to echo her friend, Niishi quickly pulled it down.

"No, my friend, I think you've had enough," Niishi said.

Sakura slumped down in her seat. She knew that her friend spoke the truth.

"I take it that you've found nothing to help me," Sakura said miserably.

Niishi looked down dejectedly into her own empty glass, and said, "I'm afraid you guessed right. I wrote to the Bee guy like you suggested to ask his thoughts but I think he misunderstood since I received back poetry."

Sakura smiled wanly, "That's Bee-sama for you. You'll get used to it. It's how he speaks."

Niishi nodded as if she understood when she actually didn't.

Sakura morose mood changed suddenly and her eyes brightened, "Well if plan A doesn't work then onto plan B."

"Plan A, B?" Niishi asked, trying to keep up with the conversation.

"Plan A was finding our answer using the archives here in Konoha, but I think we are looking in the wrong place. We need to go to where this all started, plan B, the Land of Waves. You do still have a contact there, right?" Sakura asked, hopefully.

Niishi cocked her head to one side thoughtfully, "I might. Of course, it was long ago when I sought out the information on how to make these weapons. Perhaps, he has not moved on."

"There, it's settled, we leave tomorrow," Sakura announced, pounding her hand on the table a bit too hard. A hairline crack emerged in the center of the heavy wooden table where her fist had made contact.

"Whoops!" she giggled, drunkenly.

"Don't you think tomorrow is too soon," Niishi replied, ignoring the damaged table, and eyeing her friend with concern.

"Not soon enough," Sakura muttered under her breath.

Niishi heard her and raised an inquiring eyebrow but pressed no more.

"You will need to get permission from the Hokage, given that I am still considered a criminal," Niishi remarked, sadly, thinking of the lives of the children she killed to make these weapons of destruction.

Sakura waved her hand nonchalantly and said, "Already done. There's a C ranked escort job for two Shinobi. It will give us the cover we need to ask around without drawing too much attention to ourselves."

Niishi swirled the liquor in her refilled glass, "So you already had this planned before I even told you that I had found nothing in my research to help you."

Sakura shrugged, "There was always a hope but I knew that you would have come to me if you had anything of worth to try. The fact that you didn't, spoke for itself."

"Still tomorrow is so soon, couldn't we…" Niishi began but was cut off by a irate Sakura.

Her eyes flashed and her face hardened. "It has to be tomorrow!" At seeing Niishi's stricken face, Sakura sat back in her seat and repeated in a softer, calmer voice, "It has to be."

She thought of the soft glow of the emerald and what that meant. Sasuke was coming to the village. She needed to be long gone before he got here.

Niishi nodded and stood up. "In that case, I need to go to attend to some matters before we leave. I will see you at first light."

Sakura nodded. As she watched Niishi bow her head to get through the small bar entrance, she blew a relieved pent up breath outwards, causing her pink bangs to fly upwards. She hated acting a bully but she needed Niishi to come with her. Her insight into the craftsmanship of these blades was essential. She had argued as much to the Sixth. Even Kakashi could not dissuade her main purpose. She had to put the souls of these kids to rest as well as her own sanity.

 _I_ _think I'm rubbing off on you,_ Inner snickered.

"Shut it!" Sakura growled, causing a passing waiter to jump in response to her ferocity.

::

Sakura made her way back to her house. She trudged up the stairs to her flat. She hoped that the amount of alcohol that she consumed would be enough to get her into a few hours of dreamless sleep. She opened the door and threw on the lights and jumped at the sight of someone lounging nonchalantly on her couch.

"Sasuke! What are you doing here?!" she demanded.

 _Sasuke_! the young voices inside her head squealed. Suddenly, Sakura had the inane thought to run to him and give him a hug. She stamped down the impulse emphatically.

 _Looks like you weren't quick enough_ , Inner snorted unkindly.

Sakura stood staring at her intruder for several moments more before she demanded he answer her, "Well?!"

Sasuke rose from the couch unhurriedly and stretched. Sakura couldn't help but drink in the sight of him. It had been months since she last saw him. He looked as if he had lost weight which was odd considering that the last time she saw him, he was already too skinny.

She sighed, and put her hand to her head as she felt another throbbing headache coming on, "Come. Sit and eat. You can tell me why you have come. Naruto's wedding isn't for another month."

Sasuke twisted his lips at the mention of Naruto's upcoming nuptials. Sasuke quickly got out plates as Sakura took out leftovers from her fridge. They worked silently together. Finally when the meal was prepared, they sat down at her small table.

Sasuke took a bite of food and seemed to savor the taste for a few moments before swallowing. None of this was lost on Sakura. Her eyes couldn't get enough of him and it didn't help that the voices in her head seemed to be singing his name. She really had hoped that the next time she saw him that she would not have this internal audience. It was bad enough keeping her own urges in check without the added turmoil inside of her. She knew that the children thought of her as their mother figure. Strangely, though, they also seemed to feel that Sasuke was their father figure which was absurd given the lack of time he spent in the village.

"I heard that you were planning on leaving the village tomorrow," Sasuke said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"Yes, you see, Kakashi needed someone…" she began.

"Stop lying, Sakura. It's pointless with me and you do it poorly anyway," he said sharply, his eyes bore into hers.

 _He does have a point,_ Inner concurred, _you are a terrible liar._

Sakura's cheeks flamed and she said hotly, "If you must know, I'm hoping to find a way to neutralize those chakra draining darts. You should know more than anyone how important that is."

Sasuke nodded and stood up from the table, "I agree. I will meet you at the gates at dawn."

"But you've just gotten here. You need to report to Kakashi and…and," Sakura sputtered, her mind reeling and trying to think clearly through the volume of alcohol and the myriad of voices that started speaking at once in her head.

"Already done, Sakura. How do you think I know about your mission? Besides, the Land of Waves is my destination, as well," Sasuke said.

He quickly bent down at the waist, and gave her a kiss on the top of her head, "Until then," he said, and transported away.

Sakura sat in stunned silence. The voices in her head had settled into a rare comfortable lull during the meal. Once Sasuke transported away, the volume began to increase once more.

 _Well, that plan backfired_ , Inner chimed.

"In spades," she said out loud into the silent room.

 **End of Chapter 1**

 **I apologize for the long delay for this installment. Thank you for those who follow/fave the story and please send a review.**


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